Essentials of Interactive Multimedia Authoring

Multimedia Title Development Process Flow

Lesson1

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:

State the importance of the multimedia development process.

List resource requirements of the multimedia title development process.
Name the three phases of multimedia title development process.
Identify the processes undertaken in each of the phases of multimedia title
development.

Overview
Multimedia is said to be a commonplace today. That is due to the advancements
in computer speeds and storage space. Consequently, the term doesn't produce the same
excitement it once did before. This also means it is not as overused as it was back in the
late '90s. But what is this multimedia? As the name implies, multimedia is the integration
of multiple forms of media. This includes text, graphics, audio, video, etc. For example, a
presentation involving audio and video clips would be considered a "multimedia
presentation." Educational software that involves animations, sound, and text is called
"multimedia software." The "multimedia formats" are often considered to be in CDs and
DVDs since they can store a lot of data and most forms of multimedia require a lot of
disk space.
Most often than not, multimedia design and development is a quite complex,
arduous, and harder-than-you-think proposition. For instance, producing multimedia
projects with quality, at a reasonable price, and on time calls for thinking things out
ahead of time; establishing goals and milestones; and working with teams of brilliantly
creative people who work like dogs. It's not that much different than any other kind of
project where you build a one-of-a-kind product.
A harmonious and healthy multimedia production process is tailored to the type
and scale of the individual project, but certain concepts apply no matter what you're
developing. These concepts are of course: Always plan ahead, keep the client informed,
track the implementation against the plan, and test the results.
This lesson of the module gives you an idea of how to develop a multimedia title.
How I wish that the ideas in this lesson make your title wonderful and interesting.
Lets try to start our purpose now!

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1.1 IMPORTANCE

Multimedia title development process tries to increase development productivity

and reliability. It guarantees that all the requirements on system development productivity
are accounted for during the development.
We've seen that multimedia title development has the capacity to combine
computers, entertainment and publishing into one medium for exchange of information
that expands more of its three potentials. It can even deliver large amounts of materials in
multiple forms, and can deliver them in an integrated environment that allows users to
control the reading and viewing experience. Unlike if youre just reading a book youll
need to turn its pages in a fixed sequence but not if youre just a viewer of a multimedia
title. All you need to do is shift the information focus at a whim but the focus remains to
the information provided. Just imagine how graphics, audio, animation, and video help
you came in an environment that seems comparable to real life situation.
For instance, multimedia programs bring to education the extraordinary storage
and delivery capabilities of computerized material. This is especially important for
schools, libraries, and learning institutions where books are difficult to obtain and update.
Multimedia is a powerful and efficient source for acquiring learning resources.
Multimedia can also provide educational institutions access to other kinds of inaccessible
materials, such as hard to find historical films, rare sound recordings of famous speeches,
illustrations from difficult to obtain periodicals, and so on. Multimedia can put primary
and secondary source materials at the fingertips of users in even the remotest locations
from major research facilities.
Publishing professionals and authors know what they want from a book, and
instinctively know also how to achieve results after producing enough titles. Just like in a
book, multimedia title can achieve the same results but it requires more involved
development process. That process on the other hand, would involve many people or a
team (programmers, testers, writers, artists, musicians and sound engineers) which is far
more compelling that its printed form.

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1.2 RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS

1.2.1

Manpower Resources

Multimedia team includes the following

as suggested below:
Art Director-responsible for the
visual appeal of the whole
multimedia project.
Developer- can also be called
chief technology officer or
software engineer. Specializes
and responsible for all the
executive, creative decisions and
financial
aspects
that
has
something to do with the physical
development of the multimedia
project.
Producer- can be a person or group
of persons responsible for the
totality of the development process
of the project. Take charged of the
job of gathering forces who will
create the project, supervising them
with the hands-on work and
responsibilities to build the project
and do the conceptualization to
commission everything for the
project.
Programmer- a professional(s)
with superior skills in coding or
creating set of instructions for a
particular computer as solution to a
problem and at the same time with
sense of creativeness & userfriendliness characteristics for the
multimedia project.

personnel

Interface Designer-responsible for

taking into account various
perceptions and creating front end
that help satisfy the target
population or as many people as
possible.
Graphics Editor-responsible for
the visual appeal of the text, still
images and the like form of
graphics in the project.
Project Manager-responsible for
daily or day-to-day supervision of
the production
Quality Assurance Engineerresponsible for compilation of the
reports after the field tests. Should
be present during product planning
to bring into the project insights
about field testing of the product for
assured quality.
Sound Specialist/Editor- a talented
professional on choosing good and
proper sound effects, background
music and recording skills and other
important matters pertaining to the
harmonious matching of the scenes
the audio effects of the multimedia
project.
Writer- a professional with
excellent communication skills and
experience in online writing.

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1.2.2

Multimedia Devices
Below are some of the multimedia devices:

CD-ROM Drive-the drive

needed to retrieve data from a
CD-ROM format disc.

Scanner- an optical device

for reading hard copy (printed
page) and translating it into a
digital data or graphics image
for the computer.

Sound Card and Speakeralso called sound board and

audio adapter. A personal
computer expansion board that
used to record and play back
sounds,
providing
outputs
directly to speakers or any
external amplifier.

Digital Camera- a device

that records still images on a
PC card.

Video
Cameraa
device that records
moving images.

MIDI Instruments and

Interfaces- can be used to
record a musical session, but
instead of recording the analog
sound waves as in a tape
recorder, the computer stores
the music as keystroke and
control codes.

CD-Writer-a device that

can write the information on a
compact disc.

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1.3 TASKS SEQUENCING

Activities involved in multimedia title development are
divided into three task groups or phases namely:
1.3.1 Pre-Production. The purpose of this phase is to
determine what is to be built, by whom and how. Tasks
may include as follows:

Designing the Instruction

Writing the Proposal

Project Planning, Contracts, and Responsibilities

Gathering, Searching, and Researching Related Materials

1.3.2 Production. The actual development of the project. Tasks may include as
follows:

Storyboarding

Creating Graphic Elements

Creating Audio-Visual Elements

Authoring the Project

1.3.3 Post-Production. Basically involves the evaluation of the multimedia title

and the entire project. Tasks may include as follows:

Implementation

Assessing, Evaluating and Revising

Distribution and Delivery. This stage of the multimedia project includes all
the processes required to prepare and deliver the final product and close the
project. These activities follow on from the completion of the development
phase, which has ended with the successful acceptance testing of the product.
The processes involved in the close of the project include:

preparation for delivery (which includes archiving and debriefing

the team)

delivery of the product.

(See next topic for more detailed discussions on the 3 Phases of Multimedia Title Development)

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o Form group of 3 members.

o List the PC devices you will need for the multimedia piece you
intend to develop.
o List the manpower resources that compose your team for the
development of the multimedia title. Distribute the
responsibilities among each member of the development team.
Examples:
Who will be the project manager? What are the
responsibilities on his shoulder?
Who will act as the graphics editor? What are his
obligations?
Etc.
o Start Tasks Sequencing by discussing among members the
activities you have to perform and accomplish on the following
phases:
Pre-Production,
Production, and
Post-Production
o Submit this Activity Sheet together with Outcome Sheet (another
paper/bond paper) for your Group Output.

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1.4 THE THREE PHASES OF MULTIMEDIA TITLE

DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
1.4.1 Pre-Production
It is the process of intelligently mapping out a cohesive strategy for the entire
multimedia project, including content, technical execution and marketing. The Production
Manager undertakes the following activities:

Development of the budget control system

Hiring of all specialists involved in the multimedia application process

Contracting video and audio production crews and recording studios

Equipment rental, leasing and purchasing

Software acquisition and installation

Planning the research work of the content specialists

Development of the multimedia application outline, logic flow, scripts and video
and audio files production scripts and schedules

Coordination of legal aspects of production

Pre-Production phase of development on the other hand should also cover the
following processes:

Concept definition

Title goals/ Selecting Product Category. Here, you will need to select
the product category. Successful multimedia development efforts begin by
defining the type of multimedia product you will able to be produced.
Multimedia titles fall into one of the following categories below:
Productivity Titles. Category that adds multimedia functionality
to standard productivity applications.
Examples:
spreadsheets.

word processors, presentation

packages,

and

Informational Titles. Category that give ideas or information to

Essentials of Interactive Multimedia Authoring

users of the multimedia piece.

Examples: multimedia encyclopedias and
medical references.
Entertainment Titles. Category that provide entertainment to
the public or target population or audience.
Examples: multimedia games or books that incorporate
animation sequences, images, text & graphics and sounds.
Creativity Titles. Category that deliver information with which
an artist can work, including audio, video clips and clipart.
Educational Titles. Category that includes elementary and
secondary courseware with interactivity.

Audience. It is also a very critical task towards the success of a

multimedia title is the identification of audience and understanding each
one of them.

Specify the Content. Once the target audience is identified, you will be
better prepared to specify the content of your title. You may start the:

Design of multimedia project

o

Story/content/services

Information architecture

Visual and sound

Technical

Interaction

Navigation

Production plan
o

Storyboarding/content outline

Define the scope of the project--how many pages, sounds,

animations, etc.

Define the flow of the project--organization and navigation

Out of this comes the information needed for the rest of the
production plan

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Selecting the Project Team/Assembling Team. Since the task of

development is such a collaborative process, it is a necessity that the
project team include the right mix of skills sets and personalities which
may compose as follows:
o

Designer/Art Director

Producer

Technical designer

Developer

Audio producer

Writers and editors

Graphic artists/editors

Programmers/HTML coders

Composers/sound designers/musicians/sound specialist &

editors

Content specialists (if possible)

Technical assistants (if possible)

Production assistants (if possible)

Rights and researchers (if possible)

Lawyer (if possible)

1.4.2 Production
Once all the preproduction activities have been completed, the multimedia
application enters the production phase. Activities in this phase include:

Content Research

Interface Design

Graphics Development

Selection of musical background and sound recording

Development of computer animation

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Production of digital video

Authoring

1.4.3 Post-Production
In this phase, the multimedia application enters the alpha and beta testing process.
Once the application is tested and revised, it enters the packaging stage. It could be
burned into a CD-ROM or published on the internet as a website.
Testing and Delivering Multimedia Application
TESTING MULTIMEDIA APPLICATION
o The Evaluation Process
Testing of a multimedia title is essential so that the final application adheres to
international quality standards and is not infested with bugs, technical snags, inaccurate
information or simple grammatical or typographical errors.
The process of evaluating (testing) and revising a multimedia application project
is dynamic and constant. It involves both internal and external evaluation.
o Internal Evaluation
The happens within the multimedia development group, through internal
discussions for evaluating the aspects of the application:

Application design : Is it logical and facilitates learning?

Project goals and objectives : Are the established goals and Objectives
being met ?

Content is the acquired content represented accurately

Text and narration : Are the text and narration grammatically Correct?

Application graphics : Are the application graphics adequate to fulfill

the goals and objectives ?

Sound : Is the background music, sound effects (SE) and other sounds
well recorded ?

Application navigation : Are the navigational structures and aids

effective?

Programming code : Is it working as originally planned?

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Essentials of Interactive Multimedia Authoring

Delivery : Can the application be delivered via the proposed medium ?

Time and budget : Is the project on-time and on-budget ?

Legal considerations: Have all licenses and other copyrights Been

procured?

The prime responsibility of this function lies with the production manager and can
be most effective if the team members are open to positive criticism of their peers.
o External Evaluation
The following are the components of external evaluation:
Alpha Testing. Alpha testing takes place when the project is
considered a working model i.e. it is not finished but it is functional.
The purpose of Alpha testing is to determine if the general direction
and structure are adequate and what changes are necessary. Members
of the Alpha-testing group should include a balance of friends and
critiques.
Focus Group Testing. After revising the application based on the
feedback of the Alpha test, another possible strategy is to present the
application to a focus group. These groups are composed of
individuals who represent the expected audience of the project.
Standardized forms should be used for requesting comments and
suggestions from the Focus Group.

Beta Testing .Once the project is in a final draft form, copies should
be made available to a group of potential users called a beta-testing
group. Here again, standardized questionnaires should be used for
collating feedback.

DELIVERING MULTIMEDIA APPLICATION

High-end multimedia applications that are text and graphic heavy are best
delivered on a CD-ROM. The other effective way of delivery is on an internet website.

Burning a CD-ROM

Before recording a CD-ROM, it must be ensured that the application and

supporting Files after they are recorded on the CD-ROM. Read and Write CD-ROM
drives will allow editing in the near future. The process of burning a CD-ROM is similar
to recording on any type of drive hard disc or floppy diskette.
The issue of which CD-ROM format should be used has to be considered before
burning a CD-ROM. Formats to choose from include-ISO 9660 Standard, Hierarchical

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Delivery through internet website

Multimedia content is being widely disseminated through internet. Although

currently bandwidth problems, requirement of a number of plug-ins to play real audio and
real video, long download time and other problems exists that hamper the delivery of
multimedia applications through internet, the pace of technological improvement will
soon pave the way for easy and effective delivery.
One major advantage that internet will have over CD-ROMs is that are amenable
to continuous update activities and hence the content does not get outdated.

Integration of CD-ROM and Internet

A more effective way of delivering a multimedia application is an integration of

the two mediums of CD-ROM and Internet. Of course, a particular application if
developed on the CD-ROM, has an embedded link to a website where regular updates are
available. Vice-versa, if the application is developed as a website where information
keeps accumulating, then as the archive becomes substantial it can be reproduced on a
CD-ROM for convenience viewing.
On the usage phase, the multimedia system is given to the client for dissemination
to the users or target population. Whether in CD-ROM, Internet, or in their integration, a
mechanism for the audience feedback should be provided. Thus, multimedia system will
most likely require the improvement or update it should as the times moves on. Different
hardware and software discovered may change the technology that would produce better
effects and modifications in the system. More evaluation and reevaluation techniques
may occur in the process before the final delivery.

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Outline Planning and Deciding

Lesson 2

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:

Plan an outline for a multimedia project.

Define a good user interface in relation to the target user.
Decide about storyboarding,
Create a graphic elements and audio-visual elements.
Prepare a prototype for their intended users and production team.
Explain the primary concerns of the production phase of multimedia title
development.

Overview
Creating instructional multimedia is very much like building a house or producing
a movie. The first step isn't only like picking up a hammer or a video camera and the job
is already done. The first step is to carefully lay out the plans for what you hope to
accomplish and how you decide on each very step. In short, you need a plan to do it.
Granted, if you know a little bit about construction or movie producing it could prove
beneficial, but chances are you'll rely on others for many aspects of either sort of project.
It is simple because you cannot finish the job alone. You will need help of a group or in
relation to a movie, a production team who is proficient in his own field of expertise and
goal-directed motivation. The same is true for creating instructional multimedia. Notice
that we use the term "instructional". This distinguishes the focus from the development of
multimedia without specific instructional goals and objectives. With the advent of
simpler interfaces for authoring languages and with so many people now experienced
enough with computers to create basic forms of multimedia, it is increasingly difficult to
locate truly "instructional" multimedia -- software that has underlying objectives of
teaching a specific academic subject of focus. This information will prepare you to create
such instructional materials.
Since the focus of education changes from attempts at teaching students all there
is to know about a specific subject (a goal that is no longer achievable due to the
increasing amount of human knowledge in nearly every discipline) to more practical
approaches toward providing foundational skills of learning such as problem solving and
working collaboratively, multimedia as an instructional tool is finding a place in the
forefront of education.
It is unfortunate that often the end product becomes the sole focus of multimedia
development. Although a great deal of learning might be inferred to have happened in
order to get the end product, inferences are not the best approach to ensuring that the
learning took place. From an instructional perspective there is a tremendous value

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attributed to the multimedia development process. Students must select their topics,
research these topics, structure the information that they want to portray in their
multimedia product and then organize and portray it in a way that makes sense to
themselves and to their audience.
A multimedia product to be complete must be made out of many ingredients. It
can be an existing printed products or a software product itself. But what can be sure of
only is that each product has its own set of requirements and considerations.
Lets try doing job now!
2.1 MULTIMEDIA PROJECT PLANNING
The production of interactive multimedia applications is a complex one, involving
multiple steps in multimedia project planning procedures. This process can be divided
into nine planning phases about the following items:

Project Rationale

Objectives/Goals

Intended/Target Audience

Theme/Concept

Delivery Medium

Production Environment

Operating Environment

Production Budget

Production Schedule

2.1.1 Project Rationale

At the onset of preparation you must consider important things. Here are some of
the few questions that you need to ask when preparing a multimedia presentation:
2.1.1.1 Why need to create a multimedia project? Is multimedia the best
option for the project? How appropriate the cost-effectiveness of the
project is?
2.1.1.2 What do I want to say?

Pick your topic

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Define your main points

Do your research

Draft a "script"

2.1.1.3 How do I want to say it?

Find Media that illustrates the content of your script

this could be but not limited to:
pictures from books, magazines, internet
music from CDs or downloaded on the internet
Movie clips
Words that illustrate a point

Create a sequential "movie" of images and text that supports your

script

2.1.2 Objective/Goals
In a multimedia project, specific goals, objectives and activities matrix must be
laid down. But before hand, let us first clear up the difference between goals and
objectives. In multimedia production, goals are general statements of anticipated project
outcomes, usually more global in scope while objectives are specific statements of
anticipated project outcomes.
It is important that a multimedia project or product needs to accomplish
something. In this case, the accomplishment should be measurable and behavior-based
from the users standpoint. You will need activities to do these. Activities are actions,
things done in order to implement an objective. Specific people are responsible for their
execution, a cost is related to their implementation and there is a time frame binding their
development.
Another point of view to sell concepts and ideas, you need to remember the so
called AIDA formula.
AIDA stands for:
Attention. Multimedia project must call the attention of the target audience. Always
consider the background of the users and their conditions to grab their
attention, within their field of expertise and common experience are conquered
in the presentation. Keeping your audience captured would mean that
sometimes detailed product specifications and photos aren't enough to close
that sale. Often your audiences want more than just a product, they want an
experience. They want a sense of interaction and involvement.

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Interest. Multimedia format combines the use of different form of information- text,
picture, animation, sound, and video and not only one of those to catch the
interest of the intended audiences.
Desire. Multimedia developers should ensure human interface between user and the
multimedia project being developed. It would be an advantage if you could
implement the better use of the multimedia project in the sense that the target
users are given control of the setup and best interactivity in order to elicit and
build the desire to both the medium and subject matter in the product. By
allowing users to control the sequence and the pacing of the materials,
multimedia packages facilitate greater individualization in learning, allowing
audience to proceed at their own pace in a tailored learning environment.
Action. Multimedia project objectives should state exactly what visible activity the target
user can perform as a result of exposure to the multimedia presentation.
2.1.3 Intended/Target Audience
A very important element that needs to be defined at this stage is the potential
target audience of the proposed title since this will determine how the content needs to be
presented. You need to ask to yourself the below question:

Who is my audience?

Know your audience. Each audience may require a different method of delivery

Prepare a presentation which will involve a live presentation of the script

2.1.4 Theme/Concept
The process of making multimedia starts with an "idea" or better described as "the
vision" - which is the conceptual starting point. The starting point is ironically the
visualization of the ending point - the multimedia experience that the targeted end-user
will have. Conceptualization involves identifying a relevant theme for the multimedia
title and other criteria like availability of content, how amenable is the content to
multimedia treatment and issues like copyright are also to be considered.
Identifying the theme of the project is like identifying also the project construct.
The developer starts by survey of needs. Determining what kinds of title are sought by a
particular kind of people is relevant to your theme analysis.

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Another consideration also has something to do with the visual theme, style and
layout, the content and the audience relationship. Always remember that the best theme
should be broad enough to incorporate various media without imposing limitations in
style and layout, but not narrow enough to ensure consistency across screen display.
2.1.5 Delivery Medium
The delivery phase of the multimedia project includes all the processes required to
prepare and deliver the final product and close the project. These activities follow on
from the completion of the development phase, which has ended with the successful
acceptance testing of the product. The processes involved in the close of the project
include: (1) preparation for delivery (which includes archiving and debriefing the team)
and (2) delivery of the product. For a multimedia product to be fully experienced there
are three available pillars namely:

Hardware

Software

User participation.

This is through since you will need to know what software and hardware you can
reasonably expect the target audience to have, as well as the setting in which it will be
used (laboratory, office, home, networked computers, modem, etc). All these three can
run on different platforms, depending on the project goals and objectives you identified
for your target audience. You can deliver the multimedia project on CD-ROM, the Web,
even touch-screen kiosks or PDAs. That's the beauty of multimedia anything is
possible.
CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory) .Storage disks of approximately
650Mb capacity that are encoded with a laser and a magnetic head. They can be recorded
only once but can be read for as long as the disk lasts. It is inexpensive to duplicate but
easy to distribute and can be used in many platform of computers in todays market.
on-line or World Wide Web
On-line refers to being connected to a network. Most of the multimedia project
can be best be presented on-line or in the world wide web especially those that contain
information hat changes over time. Take note that World wide web is the portion of the
Internet that can display information graphically in digital manner better than through
coaxial cable of the cable televisions.
Kiosk. A protective and often promotional installation that contains new media playback
equipment and content designed for wide public use. It is a self-contained stand with a
video screen, user-input device and also source of its delivery medium such as laserdisc
or like media. But the only difference of using this for delivery is that it needs simpler
technical specifications limited only single delivery system optimized for one particular
multimedia presentation.

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2.1.6 Production Environment

Production environment includes determination of what software and hardware
will be used during production and available to your development team. It may be
necessary to purchase more powerful machines (machines on which to develop complex
animations, for example). It will be necessary to survey existing software and to assess its
appropriateness as a development tool. It may be necessary to purchase additional
software to complete the development.
It would also be wise to review potential changes that may occur in hardware and
software during the development cycle. For instance, you might need to know the
following:

What basic hardware (CPU, monitor, RAM, CD-ROM speeds, modem) do the
target users have and need?

What basic software (operating system, browser, plug-ins, and drivers) do the
users have and need?

What environment (e.g. campus library, computer lab, home) will the users be
using the package in?

What hardware is available to and required by the development team?

What software is available to and required by the development team?

What will be the storage requirements?

What will be the security requirements?

What students/user management systems will need to be in place?

What will be the minimum infrastructure support and maintenance requirements

(e.g. server downtime)?

For each production environment that the development team requires, there is a
good reference by citing one:
Sample Description of Production Environment
Operating System: Windows 7
Application Software: MS Office 2010(Word, Powerpoint, Excel)
Windows 7 Sound Recorder
3DMAX 2010
UNITY
Adobe PhotoShop CS5.5
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Any scanner software compatible to

your scanner (for graphics scanning)
Any Desktop Publishing Software of your compatibility
Any Video Editor compatible to your system
Any Sount Editor compatible
Hardware:

Client/Server System
PC: CPU Pentium 4 2.26GHz, 224MB RAM, 40GB
Combo Drive (DVD_R/W & DVD ROM) or External
Sound Card
Video Camera
Digital Camera
Printer
Scanner & USB Drawing Pad
Head set with Microphone
Speaker & Sound Blaster.

2.1.7 Operating Environment

The operating environment defines the software and hardware conditions needed
to run the finished multimedia project. It is important to consider the equipment platform
on which the finished product will run, since execution speeds or number of colors to be
displayed may vary during production and actual presentation to the target users or
clientele.
Sample Description of Operating Environment:
Operating System: MS Windows 7(at least)
Application Software: MS Office 2010
Hardware: PC: CPU i3 10GHZ, 64MB RAM, 500 GB
DVD ROM
Sound Card & Speakers

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2.1.8 Production Budget

In multimedia production, the most valuable issue is about money or budget
preparation. Every piece of work requires expenditure for everything. You should start
budgeting from production to marketing. It is also a must that you know the costeffectiveness of your multimedia project. For instance, single change or modification on
screen style and layout has corresponding monetary cost. It is also the same with
changing project team member because for every expertise, compensate a corresponding
variation of talent or professional fee. Even software ad hardware requirements expenses
will vary from production or operation environment costs. In this extent, costs are
classified into two namely:

Hard Costs. The outgoing expenses that can be adequately quantified. Example
of which are: office equipment (rental or purchase), office expenses( rent,
utilities), salaries and fees, software purchases and packaging costs; and

Soft Costs. The expenses that are known but not always quantifiable. Example of
which are: legal expenses and telephone bills

2.1.9 Production Schedule

Scheduling is the preparation of project timelines which helps you balance items
in the production or stages of development. It is important that schedule is set from the
start of production to the final delivery of the project. Scheduling includes the following
considerations:

Rights acquisition & clearance

Content production

Content acquisition (video, text, images, etc.)

Software engineering

Testing

As the developer, there are two important questions you need to ask when
charting a multimedia project schedule.
Have we successfully developed similar projects like these before?
Is contingency planning possible?
In this extent, any of the two type of scheduling is possible to employ:
Forward Scheduling. The theory is: Start TODAY, finish WHEN?
Backward Scheduling. The theory is: This is the DEADLINE, when you will
START?
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2.2 MAKING A MULTIMEDIA PROJECT OUTLINE

The multimedia project outline serves as a complete image of the title to be
created. It usually covers the following:
2.2.1

Develop the program script and outline

Scene listing were done by organizing and laying out the story structure.

Event Listing on the other hand were conducted by organizing in terms of

events but this only optionally done especially if the events are very
simple.

2.2.2

Develop the flowchart and storyboard

Storyboarding or content outline consists of accomplishing the tasks as

follows:

Define the scope of the project--how many pages, sounds, animations, etc.

Define the flow of the project--organization and navigation out of this

comes the information needed for the rest of the production plan

2.2.3 User interface planning.

User interface refers to the operability or ease of navigation within and
between different scenarios in the multimedia project. User interface can be good
if it considers the following :

Level of understanding of the target audience and their conditions.

Principle of consistency. The multimedia project should be consistent with

the use of buttons, sounds and visual effects .
TIPS ON USE OF BUTTONS
Buttons throughout the multimedia project must be smaller than
other buttons and fixed at the edge of the screen or in the
outermost frame.
Avoid putting buttons used within the multimedia project near
buttons that are only used within a screen.
If possible, make buttons into icons which would make it more
understandable at a glance.
When the buttons graphics are not clear to its function, include
tool tips.
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 Always add a cancel button when showing animation or

moving images especially in the opening screen.
Use checkbox when user needs to select many options at
one time.
Use a radio button when the user can only select one option
among several choices at one time.

Use of text selectively as well as Help feature if necessary.

TIPS ON THE USE OF TEXT & HELP OPTION
Limit the use of text font in the whole multimedia project.
Changing font size, formatting text (bold, italics and
underlining text) can only be done when emphasizing a
particular textual information.
Help option can be made available throughout the
multimedia project especially when the user dont know
what, how and when to do things and when things didnt
run as expected.

2.2.4 Build prototype

Building a prototype is done to confirm whether the scenario conceived
matches the contents of the written plan. The prototype is usually reviewed by every
member of the production team and others who has to do with the project especially
to the target clientele or users. Comments and opinions towards the prototype would
be of great contribution to the final outcome of the multimedia project. The
evaluation will be significant towards its revisions and enhancements.
On the other hand, it is not necessary that the multimedia project control
structure is already completed or not, whether the graphics is precise or not and
whether the images are high quality or not but instead, whether the prototype could
enable the production staff and audience imagine how the completed multimedia will
look and run. Therefore, at this phase you need to do the following steps:

Test out design direction

Prove out new technology components

Get everyone on the same page about what the project is

See how team works together .

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Scenario Writing and Data Planning

Lesson 3

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:

Build all documents describing the internal structure of a multimedia title.

Design screen layouts of their own.
Decide on the flow of execution of their multimedia title.
Decide on dramatic effects.
Gather data for their multimedia presentation.
Prepare a still picture data list as well as rough sketch of each picture data.
Plan on video data for the multimedia title.
Prepare the sound data list as well as the manuscript for speech and music.

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